Just Because It's Vegan Doesn't Mean It's Healthy

Fact: vegans have never had it so good, but ‘plant-based’ isn’t necessarily shorthand for ‘good for you’. As fried chicken, burgers and doughnut joints spring up across the globe, we put the rise of vegan fast food under the microscope

- Laura Potter

From Melbourne to Surfers Paradise, you’ll find Lord of the Fries stores buzzing every night of the week. The mouth-watering aroma of fried chicken wafts through the air, tables are loaded with burgers, hot dogs and nuggets, and each salty mouthful is washed down with a creamy shake. So far, so fast food standard – except for one crucial detail: no animals were harmed in the making of these meals. Lord of the Fries’ mostly vegan menu is a triumph of fake meat and dairy, and its fans are growing with every deep-fried bite. Welcome to veganism 2.0, where meat-free no longer means missing out.

The ultra-alternative, mung bean-munching reputation long held by vegans is no more. In Australia, more than 2 million of us are turning down meat, and we boast the world’s third-largest vegan market of packaged food, estimated to be worth $215 million by 2020. That’s big money, and big business is catching on: it’s no coincidence that Hungry Jack’s recently added a vegan burger to its menu, or that Mad Mex outlets now sprinkle a vegan cheese over their tofu burritos. At San Churro chocolaterias around the country, vegans can indulge in a churro bowl filled with salted caramel gelato and drizzled with chocolate, and on the Gold Coast, food marketplace The LC serves up 100 per cent plant-based pizza, ramen, pastries, kebabs and burgers around the clock. It’s all Insta-worthy, inclusive and finger-licking good, but healthy? Hold that thought.

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